Current rotary cultivators, sometimes called rototillers, such as used particularly on small plots and gardens, have powerdriven "wheels" formed by a peripheral series of projecting (often L-shaped) tines, which by their revolving passage through the top layer of soil, serve to loosen and aerate the soil. Organic material (which may have been previously spread over the ground) is thus churned into the loosened soil, together with any low ground cover such as weeds and legumes. Such assembly usually includes a pair of wide-tire wheels to give stability to the frame; such wheels may be on a powered shaft for forward propulsion of the machine or they may be free-rolling on an idler axle merely for stability. Such support wheels may either be in advance or behind the rotary tillers, and in addition there may be some adjustment means for varying the depth of penetration or ground clearance of the tiller blades, either by tilting one end of the frame relative to the support rollers or by means of adjustable depth control. The amount of penetration of course must also be related to the hardness of the soil, and achievement of a desired depth may depend upon several passes of the cultivator.
However the efficiency of such assemblies for a single pass operation is practically limited to their use on plots having a very low ground coverage or to cleared ground on which organic matter has already been spread for the purpose of having it turned under. Thus with areas having a tall stand of vegetation, this cannot be both cut and turned under with a single pass of the conventional rototiller. It is usually recommended that such a field first be mowed or otherwise cleared by a separate machine such as a mower and then the cultivator be passed over it with the rotary blades in ground penetration position. Part of the reason for this is that ground churning must proceed at a relatively slow cutter speed, while chopping up the top growth of vegetation is most effective at a higher cutter speed. Another difficulty in using the rototiller in place of a mower for high growth is that trailing vines and the like will wrap themselves around the rotating parts and have to be removed ultimately by cutting with a knife or by pulling out by hand.
Accordingly it is an object to provide an improved rototiller or rotary cultivator of such type which can at the same time cut and mix into the churned soil often in one operation, a considerable top growth of vegetation, rather than having to accomplish this by use of two or more assemblies, such as a mower plus a cultivator. On the other hand, when used solely for ground clearance (of weed, vines etc) the present assembly is more effective than the conventional rototiller. In one form, the invention provides an attachment that can be added to present rototillers to obtain such result.